Expendable barbecue



Dec. 20, 1960 F. D. BARTON EXPENDABLE BARBECUE Original Filed May 5l,1955 INVENTOR. FRANK D. ARTo/v lf "un nited States Patent C 2,965,096XPENDABLE BARBECUE Frank D. Barton, Tarzana, Calif., assignor, by mesneassignments, to John S. Williams, Long Beach, J. R. Biven, San Pedro,and Leland B. Irish, Long Beach, Calif.

Continuation of application Ser. No. 511,956, May 31, 1955. Thisapplication May 21, 1958, Ser. No. 736,924

3 Claims. (Cl. 126-25) This invention relates to a barbecue that isexpendabfe or disposable, and the present application is a continuationof my copending application Serial No. 511,956, filed May 31, 1955, andnow abandoned.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a unitary, sealeddevice embodying a completely fueled barbecue that, after use, may bediscarded, the same being efficient for the purpose intended and yet soinexpensive to produce that expendability is economically feasible.

Another object of the invention is to provide a low-cost and eicientbarbecue unit that is small and compact and, therefore, readilytransportable to remote places of use as, for instance, to the beaches,camp sites, etc., where the same may be used and then discarded toobviate re-transporting from such remote places back to the home.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cornpact, sealed andcompletely fueled cooking unit that is safe for use in the home or otherenclosed places and, while embodying fuel and tinder, is capable ofclean handling in any suitabe environment.

The invention also has for its objects to provide such means that arepositive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a workingposition and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture,relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novelcombinations and arrangements of parts, which wi l more fully appear inthe course of the following description. However, the drawing merelyshows and the following description merely describes, one embodiment ofthe invention, which is given by way of illustration or example only.

In the drawing, like reference characters designate similar parts in theseveral views.

Fig. 1 is a plan view partly broken away, of an expendable or disposablebarbecue embodying the features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view, in quarter section.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view showing the features of theinvention in greater detail.

The barbecue that is illustrated comprises, generally, a housing 5, agrill 6 carried by said housing, a removable sealing cover 7 over saidgrill, and a quantity of fuel 8 and tinder 9 within said housing.

The housing may be variously shaped and has an open top 10 framed bymarginal beads or folds 11. Said housing is advantageously made of heavymetal foil of a weight or thickness that is form-retaining. In thiscase, said housing is formed as a shallow dish-shaped, opentoppedenclosure that has upwardly ared sides, substantially as shown. The openedge of the housing is preferably provided with a peripheral ledge 12.

The grill 6 is disposed to span across the open top of the housing 5 andbe supported upon the peripheral ledge 12 of said housing. Any suitab'ereasonably stiff grill may be used. The one shown comprises expandedmetal 2,965,096 Patented Dec.A 20, 1960 ICC that has a multiplicity ofopenings therein. Wire screening may be advantageously used, also. Thus,the open top of the housing is provided with a light and rigid metallicfood-supporting grill.

The sealing cover 7 preferably is made of paper and the same may beimprinted with display matter as well as instructions for use of thebarbecue. Said cover is substantialy coincidental in size with the grilland, therefore, completely encloses the interior of the housing 5.

The marginal folds 11 cooperate with peripheral ledge 12 to clinch theperipheral edges of the grill and paper cover to effectively enclose orseal in the interior of the housing 5.

The fuel 8, in this instance, comprises a number of mo ded briquettessuch as conventionally used as fuel in barbecues and the like. Coal dustwith a suitable binder comprises one form of such briquettes. Otherprocessed units of coal or other combustible material may be used.

The tinder 9 is shown as a substantially ilat roll or strip of easilyignitable material, such as impregnated paper, the same being flattenedand bent or folded to fit within the housing 5 between the bottomthereof and the grill 6. By so forming the tinder 9, the brquettes areseparated into several groups substantially umrormly distributed in thehousing. Thus, when the tinder is ignited, the same produces a flamethat substantially simultaneously ignites the fuel briquettes.

The housing 5 is initially formed with the folds 11 opened upwardly,enabling placing of the grill and paper cover upon ledge 12 after thefuel and tinder have been placed within said housing. The folds 11 arethen clinched over the margins of said grill and cover to provide thepresent sealed unit.

The barbecue is readied for use by tearing away the cover 7 and, with amatch or other lighted wick, inserted through an opening in the grill,the tinder 9 may be ignited and the latter, in a short while, ignitesthe briquettes which provide the cooking heat.

It will be obvious that items to be cooked, placed on grill 6, will becooked with minimum of fuss and bother. After the fuel has beenconsumed, the unit may be discarded as above indicated.

While the foregoing has illustrated and described what is nowcontemplated to be the best mode of carrying out the invention, theconstruction is, of course, subject to modification without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. It is, therefore, notdesired to restrict the invention to the particular form of constructionillustrated and described, but to cover all modifications that may fallwithin the scope of the appended claims.

I c'aim:

1. A completely self-contained, expendable barbecue unit, including: aplurality of pieces of solid fuel positioned in a single layer; anelongated tinder strip threaded among the pieces of solid fuel inserpentine fashion, said tinder strip being a substantially flat stripwhich is disposed on edge throughout its entire length and the thicknessof which is small as compared to its width, said tinder strip extendingfrom the bottom of said layer of pieces of solid fuel at least to thetop of said layer; and noncombustible means enclosing the pieces ofsolid fuel and said tinder strip and having a bottom and a top, saidpieces of solid fuel and Said tinder strip resting on said bottom andsaid tinder strip extending upwardly to a level adjacent said top.

2. A completely self-contained, expendable barbecue unit, including: ashallow, dish-shaped, open-topped housing of metal foil having bottomand side Walls; a plurality of pieces of solid fuel positioned in saidhousing in a singe layer and resting on said bottom wall thereof; anelongated tinder strip threaded among the pieces of solid fuel inserpentine fashion, said tinder strip being a substantially at stripwhich is disposed on edge throughout its entire `length and thethickness of which is small as compared to its width, the lower edge ofsaid tinder strip resting on said bottom wall of said housing and theupper edge of said tinder strip being above said 'layer of pieces ofsolid fuel; and a grill .seated on said housing and located adjacentsaid upper edge of said tinder strip, portions of the metal foil formingsaid housing being crimped over the peripery of said grill to secure itto said housing.

3. A completely self-contained, expendable barbecue unit, including: ashallow, dish-shaped, open-topped housing of metal foil having bottomand side walls; a pluraity of pieces of solid fuel positioned in said'housing in a single layer and resting on said bottom wall thereof; anelongated tinder strip threaded among the pieces of solidfuel inserpentine fashion, said tindex' strip being a substantially at stripwhich is disposed on edge throughout its entire length and the thicknessof which is small as compared toits width, the lower edge of said tinderstrip resting on said bottom wall of said housing and the upper edge ofsaid tinder strip being adjacent the top of said layer of pieces ofsolid fuel; and a grill seated on said housing and located above andadjacent said upper edge of'said tinder strip and above and adjacentsaid layer of pieces of solid fuel, portions of the metal foil formingsaid housing being crimped 'over the periphery of said grill to secureit to said housing.

References Cited inthe iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 421,917Farrel Feb. 25, 1890 465,666 Hulmes Dec. 22, 1891 525,912 Ludde .5.---Sept. 1'1, 1894 857.0163 Hofmann -L June 1'8, 1907 2,101,180 Jacobs Dec.7, 1937 2,212,157 Fernholtz Aug. 20, 1940 2,548,379 Lammersen Apr. 10,1951 2,811,428 Smith Oct. 29, A1957 2,834,661 Chaplin -.Y- May 13, 19582,842,116 Hiudererl July 8, 1958 2,918,051 Broman Dec. 22, 1959 OTHERREFERENCES Article regarding the Eroman Grill in Aluminum Progress,published by the Reynolds Metals Co., volume 45, only page relied on.

